33% average across all other chronic, non-communicable
disease (NCD) areas. Musculoskeletal diseases are now the
second greatest cause of disability worldwide and in most
regions of the world. The graph below (Figure 1),
which only projects to 2015, shows the beginning of
an upward curve for NCDs in the region1
. Given the
projected demographic changes we can expect a far more
dramatic rise in age-related NCDs in the coming decades,
particularly in Asia.